Gov. King vetoes repeal of fingerprinting measure

AUGUSTA – Gov. Angus S. King vetoed the repeal of Maine’s controversial fingerprinting law Wednesday night, setting the stage for a showdown when the Legislature attempts to override the objection.

The House passed LD 1090, a bill repealing the mandatory fingerprint law, in a 69-57 vote. The Senate followed Monday in a 17-16 decision. King long has opposed all efforts to tamper with the bill, which was enacted to identify school employees who may have criminal histories that include sexual abuse of children.

Earlier this week, about 25 teachers assembled on the State House steps to ask King not to veto the repeal bill. King met with the teachers for more than two hours in an attempt to explain his position. Despite teacher assertions to the contrary, King maintained the fingerprinting and FBI criminal background checks do not infringe upon the employees’ privacy or compromise their personal liberties.

“I cannot find a principle – constitutional, ethical or moral – that outweighs the benefit to society generally, and to our children in particular, that this law can and will bestow,” King said in his veto message.

The 2-year-old law has prompted 60 to 70 teachers to resign rather than submit to the process they describe as humiliating and pointless. Others claim the law amounted to unwarranted search and seizure and represented a clear violation of constitutional protections.

King’s decision now will go to the House and Senate where two-thirds of those present in both bodies must vote to defeat the veto if they wish to preserve their bill. Given the close vote in the Senate and the margin in the House, lawmakers will be hard-pressed to vote the bill into law notwithstanding the objections of the governor. That outcome pleased proponents such as Rep. Tina Baker, D-Bangor, who has argued in favor of the process from the House floor.

“It’s my sincere hope that the House will sustain the governor’s veto and that we can continue the fingerprinting effort,” she said.